2016 Snowden Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Brothers Vineyard Napa Valley 750 ml

This 2016 Brothers Vineyard Cabernet is one of the most classic Napa Cabs we've tasted all year, a throwback to the more restrained style that defined the region before riper, more full-throttle wines became the fashion. Our first sip was stunning with its aromas of dark black fruit, black currant, bay leaf, and Oscuro tobacco, all mingled with notes of upturned earth, graphite, and violet. 

The palate is just as magnificent, with richness that’s impeccably contained in a muscular frame that lingers through a long finish flecked with new leather and crushed leaves. We are ecstatic to offer it today at a fraction of what other Napa standouts at this level cost. 

Antonio Galloni was just as impressed as I was in his 96+-point review, praising the Brothers Vineyard release as a “towering Cabernet Sauvignon that captures all the vintage has to offer.” Which is saying something, considering that 2016 will go down as one of the greatest years here in modern memory. Galloni himself called the vintage “extraordinary,” characterizing the wines as “viscerally thrilling” with “a number of bottles that are destined to become icons.” This month, Wine Spectator ranked Snowden among their Top 100 wines of the year, which we could have predicted back when we first popped the cork. 

We're so happy that this family, which has over 60 years of history in the Napa Valley, is finally receiving the attention they deserve—a Top 100 and 96 point-scoring Cabernet, this 2016 Snowden release is an incredible introduction to their wines.

The Brothers Vineyard has a 130-year tradition in grape growing in Napa Valley, with industry icons such as Warren Winiarski of Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, Silver Oak, and Caymus all grateful to have purchased fruit from the historic site, which has been under the stewardship of the Snowden family since 1955. Gorgeous Cabernet Sauvignon grows there in volcanic soils between 800 and 850 feet of elevation, a sweet spot where sunny days and cool nights allow the vines to develop the kind of balance and persistence that is the backbone of all truly age-worthy reds.

For the Snowdens, this wine is yet another feather in their cap, and the family has been at the heart of Napa for generations: They even established their winery before Robert Mondavi! The Honorable Judge Scott Snowden served in the Napa Superior Court for more than 25 years. Carry Snowden, after her time at The French Laundry, became a managing partner at the Michelin 3-Star restaurant Benu when it opened. And Winemaker Diana Snowden-Seysses, after working at such Napa legends as Araujo Estate, Robert Mondavi, and Ramey Cellars, is also now the enologist for Domaine Dujac, which is one of the most exciting, iconic producers in Burgundy.

The 2016 Brothers Vineyard Cabernet is a time machine, embodying so much of what raised Napa to the upper echelons of the world’s top wine regions generations ago. As a wine professional and as someone who grew up with the Snowden family, we're proud to offer this single-vineyard Cabernet. It’s everything that we always knew they were capable of, and then some.